Only 2 books to review this week, but I still have a pile I need to get through so I’m happy :)

Dreamland by Alyson Noel
From Publishers – Pan Macmillan Aust.
Release Date – 1st October 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository

The third book in the moving and uplifting Riley Bloom series, exploring one girl’s adventures in the afterlife – from the bestselling author of The Immortals.

“All I wanted, all I’d ever dreamed of, was to be thirteen. But then I died.”

Riley Bloom’s afterlife is about as good as it gets, except she’ll never be a teenager. Riley desperately wants speak to her older sister, Ever, and ask her advice. Ever is still alive and the only way Riley can reach her is to search for Dreamland – a place where ghosts can jump into dreams and talk to their loved ones. But when she finally gets there Riley discovers that Dreamland isn’t as heavenly as it sounds. In fact, it’s a total nightmare.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
From Publishers – Harper Collins Aust.
Release Date – 1st October 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository | Kobo

Sixteen-year-old American girl Rory has just arrived at boarding school in London when a Jack the Ripper copycat-killer begins terrorising the city. All the hallmarks of his infamous murders are frighteningly present, but there are few clues to the killer?s identity.

“Rippermania” grabs hold of modern-day London, and the police are stumped with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. In an unknown city with few friends to turn to, Rory makes a chilling discovery…

Could the copycat murderer really be Jack the Ripper back from the grave?

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

The Story Siren runs a meme called In My Mailbox where Book Bloggers can interact and talk about the books they have received in their mailbox each week. Go and check it out and join in the fun!

Everlasting by Alyson Noel
From Publishers – Pan Macmillan Australia
Release Date – 1st July 2011
Check it out at Goodreads | The Book Depository

Book Description: Everlasting is the sixth and final instalment of the epic love story that has enchanted readers across the world. Ever and Damen have spent centuries facing down bitter rivals, jealous friends and their own worst fears – all in the hope of being together forever.

Now in Everlasting, their destiny is finally within reach.

Will they be united, or torn apart forever? Readers will finally discover the truth in this anxiously awaited conclusion!

Chantelle’s Review: For Ever Bloom, the past year has been filled with horrible battles and the painful loss of friends and family. She is completely cut off from her Aunt Sabine, who refuses to accept the truth of the situation, and her best friend Haven is now dead. Of course, the gift of manifesting anything and everything she could ever want is nice. Well, almost anything. Because the one thing she wants most of all is to be with her soulmate, Damen. But until they can get their hands on the antidote, all touch between them is deadly.

Ever and Damen do find comfort in visiting Summerland, the dimension that lies between earth and the next life. There they can view parts of their past lives and remember the good times they’ve had. But lately they’ve noticed something strange about Summerland, a gloomy corner filled with rain and mud. It’s there that they meet the ancient woman named Lotus. Lotus offers Ever an opportunity to see into a part of her past life that she hasn’t known about – her first life, and her initial encounter with Damen and Jude. But it’s the first step in a grueling journey of tests to fix and reset their karma. Completion of this journey will lead to the purest form of immortal life: her soul’s immortal life. But it will also mean giving up certain benefits, and Damen isn’t so sure he wants to surrender those. If Ever can’t convince Damen to join her, she may lose him forever.

Like the previous installments of Alyson Noel’s Immortals series, Everlasting will delight readers with its romance, profound ideas and intense drama. Alyson Noel’s writing talents really shine in Everlasting, and her words are filled with emotion. The conclusion to the Immortals series will bring a sigh of satisfaction.

Books in the Immortals series:

1. Evermore
2. Blue Moon
3. Shadowland
4. Dark Flame
5. Night Star

About the Author: Alyson Noel lives in Orange County, California, which forms the backdrop to her incredible new series The Immortals. She is a #1 New York Times bestselling author with Evermore, the first book in The Immortals series, and in addition to its sequels Blue Moon and Shadowland, she has written numerous teen novels – Faking 19, Art Geeks and Prom Queens, Laguna Cove, Kiss & Blog, Saving Zoe and Cruel Summer.

Have you read this book yet? Leave a comment letting me know what you think!

Alyson Noel is a New York Times bestselling author of 18 novels for teens and adults, including The Immortals series: Evermore, Blue Moon, Shadowland, Dark Flame, Night Star, and the newly released Everlasting as well as the Riley Bloom series: Radiance and Shimmer.

Alyson was born and raised in The OC, but after high school she traveled around Europe and settled in Mykonos, Greece for several years, before moving to Manhattan where she worked as a Flight Attendant for a major airline and wrote her debut novel, Faking 19, during long weather delays and boring layovers. After meeting her husband she came full circle and set up house right back in The OC where she now lives and writes full time.

Alyson recently sat down to answer a few questions:

What were your favourite books as a child?

I loved anything by Dr. Seuss, Charlotte’s Web by EB White was the first book that brought me to tears, and Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret changed my life and inspired me to be a writer too!

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

To read a lot—read outside of your usual genre, outside of your comfort zone. The books you like, as well as the books you don’t like—they all have something to teach you.
Also, be kind to yourself! It’s so easy to get discouraged when the words you write fail to live up to the vision you had in your head, which is why it’s important to remember that all writing is rewriting. The books you see on the bookstore shelves were revised numerous times to get to that point. Your first draft is for your eyes only—it’s the jumping point that allows you to build your story—it’s not meant to be published!

What did you do before you were a writer?

I worked as a New York City based flight attendant, traveling the world and working on my debut novel, Faking 19, during long weather delays and boring layovers—basically whenever and wherever I could find a free moment to spare!

Where do you do all your writing?

I have a home office where I pretty much hunker down in the morning and stay put all day—just like a “real” office job, only I go to work in my pyjamas!

Which of your characters do you most admire and why?

I really admire Ever for her strength. She was forced into this horrible situation—losing her family, burdened with psychic powers she doesn’t want—and has no choice but to navigate her way through a new life she really doesn’t understand, with no one to confide in. And though she makes some mistakes along the way, she always picks herself up and keeps going, determined to make amends, set things straight, and do the right thing. It’s a pretty tough gig that she’s got!

Is living in the OC as glamorous as what we see on the TV?

Every time I see one of those shows I can’t help but wonder what I’m doing wrong. My OC, while undeniably beautiful, with one of the most gorgeous coastlines around, consists of pretty much the usual, real life stuff—grocery shopping, bill paying—nothing anyone would ever want to film!

Everlasting By Alyson Noel
From Publishers – Pan Macmillan Australia
Release Date – 1st July 2011
Buy the book - Book Depository

Everlasting is the sixth and final instalment of the epic love story that has enchanted readers across the world. Ever and Damen have spent centuries facing down bitter rivals, jealous friends and their own worst fears – all in the hope of being together forever.

Now in Everlasting, their destiny is finally within reach.

Will they be united, or torn apart forever? Readers will finally discover the truth in this anxiously awaited conclusion!

What?s hotter than the roster of authors for our fourth Hell collection? Teen vampire romances. 

KISSES FROM HELL brings it all together with five sexy, sweet, witty and wild short stories featuring teen vampires in this exciting anthology. Richelle Mead offers her many fans the legendary love story of Eric and Rhea Dragomir, parents of Vampire Academy main character Lissa Dragomir. In Kelley Armstrong?s Hunting Kat, reluctant vampire Katiana finds love while escaping from a group bent on her destruction. In Lilith, Francesca Lia Block introduces a sexy, powerful social outcast, who turns out to be more than she seems.

Written by authors who consistently top the New York Times bestseller list (plus one cult favorite in a decidedly more commercial turn), Kisses From Hell offers five stories about the one topic teens can?t get enough of: vampires.

Sound interesting? Get your copy here!

Order

Title: Blue Moon
Author: Alyson Noel
Series: The Immortals Series
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Audience:  Young Adult
Release Date: 07 July 2009 (US) 
1st December 2009 (AUS)

Author’s Site

This is the second title in the Immortals series

Book Summary:  Just as Ever is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an immortal, initiated into the dark, seductive world by her beloved Damen, something terrible is happening to him. As Ever’s powers are increasing, Damen’s are fading – stricken by a mysterious illness that threatens his memory, his identity, his life. Desperate to save him, Ever travels to the mystical dimension of Summerland, uncovering not only the secrets of Damen’s past – the brutal, tortured history he hoped to keep hidden – but also an ancient text revealing the workings of time. With the approaching blue moon heralding her only window for travel, Ever is forced to decide between turning back the clock and saving her family from the accident that claimed them – or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows weaker each day…(Pan Macmillian Australia)

My Thoughts: If you read my review on Evermore the first book in the Immortals series, you would already know that I was not particularly excited about continuing on with the series, but I persevered and was pleasantly surprised when I enjoyed the second book more than the first. The addition of Roman, the mysterious new guy at school who seemed to be to nice to be true brings about an interesting sequence of events. Damon’s past and the mystical Summerland are delved in to a little deeper in this book which answered a few of the questions I had from the first book. And the ending of this book has left me wanting to continue the series to see what happens next.

Read an excerpt here!

Get your copy from:

Fishpond
The Book Depository (free international shipping)
Amazon
Audible

More Books in the Series: 

1. Evermore
3. Shadowland
4. Dark Flame

Have you read this book? What did you think? Leave your review or a comment below telling us what you thought :)

Title: Evermore
Author: Alyson Noel
Series: The Immortals Series
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Audience:  Young Adult
Release Date: 03 February 2009 (US) 
1st December 2009 (AUS)

Author’s Site


This is the first title in the Immortals series

Book Summary:  Seventeen-year-old Ever is the sole survivor of a car crash that killed her entire family. Living with her aunt in Southern California, she’s plagued by the ability to hear the thoughts of those around her, and haunted by the ghost of her little sister.
She tries to tune everyone out, shunning her old lifestyle as the pretty, popular cheerleader, but somehow she can’t hide from Damen, the new guy at school. Stunningly handsome, clever and not a little bit intimidating, there’s something about him that doesn’t quite add up. Ever realises he’s hiding something – but nothing could prepare her for the truth… (Pan Macmillian Australia)

My Thoughts: Ok here’s what I thought, I liked Evermore! I liked it, but I didn’t love it. It was a sweet story of the high school girl who falls for the “it” boy. Add some psychic powers, dead parents, ghost sister, immortality and a jealous ex wife of sorts and you have got a pretty decent story.

It was an easy book to read and kept me interested while the story unfolded, but once I finished it, I didn’t find myself eager to pick up the next book in the series which was a bit disappointing. Given though that I am not the target audience for this series I can get over that fact. I’m sure that the Young Adult audience will be eating this book up and loving it.


Read the first chapter here!

Get the Books:

Fishpond
The Book Depository (free international shipping)
Amazon

More Books in the Series: 

2. Blue Moon
3. Shadowland
4. Dark Flame

Have you read this book? What did you think? Leave your review or a comment below telling us what you thought :)